“Yeah, we did.” Mira watched in anticipation the ripples in the water, waiting to see what else might be shown to her, but nothing else came. She trod closer to the riverbank, fighting the urge to sink her feet into the soft earth as she stepped farther in, to lower herself into the water and be hit with its shocking coldness as she let it cover her body, her face, as she sank farther down, but she would not be cleansed of this night. No salvation existed in this water but in what lay ahead.

“Hey, Mira, you see that floating? I can’t make it out, but it looks like— Do you see? What is that?”

Jesse pointed to a few feet away. Mira’s eyes followed, and there, floating along the edge, was Mr. Tatum’s body. Mira tensed, watching, waiting, not knowing what to do as Mr. Tatum bobbed in the water. As if the river knew, the current picked up, and before either of them could speak, it was carrying Mr. Tatum’s body down into the water, carrying it on, until it had disappeared.

“Do you think—” Jesse stopped.

“I do,” Mira said. “We don’t have to worry about Mr. Tatum anymore. Not Mr. Tatum or Phillip. The ghosts aren’t coming back either. At least, not for me. They’ve shown me what I needed to see.”

They made their way back to the main part of the plantation. By the time they’d left the woods, it was almost morning. Around them, the grounds were empty. All the guests had long since gone. What remained were remnants from their day’s revelry. Leftover food smooshed in dirt. Drained bottles of champagne tucked among the grass. Flowers wilted, their petals blowing in the humid breeze. Broken bits of glass crunched beneath Mira’s feet as she stopped to catch her breath. A few feet away a copy of the wedding program lay crumpled on the ground. Mira reached down to pick it up and that’s when she noticed the trampled grass leading back from where they came. She flashed back to the crowd of guests who’d ventured off in search of Celine. How they’d laughed while holding their phones, taking photos with each other as they gallivanted off into the woods. She wondered if they’d met the same fate as Phillip and Mr. Tatum.

Mira dropped the program. “Let’s go. When the police come they’re going to see all this for what it was—a dispute between Phillip, Celine, and her father. We can leave and forget about all of it.”